Des Plaines River - 5/18/2010

Blustery day on the River

My plan was to fish Heidecke lake again for Walleye during the late afternoon and early evening hours, but when I got there it was closed. I guess somebody fell asleep and didn't realize the high winds that came through earlier in the day had subsided quite a bit.

I called the Braidwood office and was informed that the lake was open, but then opted for the river instead. It was still a little windy but not so much that Heidecke should have been closed. I ran down river and fished for a short time before I had a small fish hit the crank bait I was throwing. He came off pretty quick but a couple casts later I had a much better fish on. I put this one in the boat, took a few photos and let him go.

Largemouth Bass

I fished on for a while without another bite so I decided to work my way up river. I couldn't buy a strike so I went even further up river. I probably could have done better had I targeted the spawners, but that's not my idea of sport fishing.

Bald Eagle

As I made my way up river, I spotted a Bald Eagle in a tree. He was tough to see against the dark sky but I stopped anyway and took several pictures.

I got to the first spot I planed to fish and struck out. I saw a lot of Gar coming up and figured they'd drive out a lot of the fish I was after so I moved. I got to the next spot, made my first cast and a giant Gar hit the lure. He came up, shook is head and as soon as the line came in contact with his beak, he was gone with my lure. A short time later I hooked a Smallmouth Buffalo. I brought him to the boat and decided he wasn't worth bringing up for a picture so I played him for another minute next to the boat until he was able to unhook himself.

A pair of Bald Eagles

I hooked one other fish briefly before I decided to head back. I never saw it but it felt like a nice fish. On the return trip that same Bald Eagle was still in the same spot, only now a friend had joined him. I took several more photos before stopping at one more spot to try my luck.

Deer

I hooked another Largemouth Bass that looked smaller than the one I caught earlier, but he was able to toss the lure when he came up and shook. After that I packed up and headed home wishing I had been able to spend the time on Heidecke instead of the River.

A lot of Bass are spawning right now, and on top of that, the wind was blowing all the smells from the nearby industry right down the river which did not make for a pleasant trip. The water was 62 degrees and high from the recent rain, but not so bad that it wasn't fishable. I've seen it much worse out there and at least I was on the water and caught a couple fish. The wildlife viewing was nice despite the smells and lack of fish, and that's never anything to complain about.

Heidecke Lake 5-11-2010

Geese at Heidecke

I met Mike Matlock at Heideceke Lake around noon on Tuesday, May 11th, 2010. The skies were cloudy and every once in a while a small rain drop would find its way down from the clouds. It looked to be a perfect day for fishing. The water temperature was only 55 which was quite a drop from the last time either of us had been there.

First Cast, First Fish

As we left the cove, I realized I had left my cameras in the car in plain sight. I turned around, went back in and retrieved them before we headed off to our first spot.

My first Walleye of the day

I stopped the boat well before the shoreline we were going to fish and mentioned that the drop off we were approaching was sometimes good for a fish or two. Sure enough, I landed a small Striped Bass on my very first cast.

One of my Smallmouth

Within moments, Mike had a Smallmouth Bass on. He put it in the boat, unhooked it, and quickly released it. With two quick fish in the boat, I was hoping that was an omen for a good day.

Inspecting the power lines

We weren't fishing for more than a couple minutes when a helicopter buzzed over us. It was inspecting the power lines that run over the lake. Heidecke used to be a power plant cooling lake, but the plant has since been demolished, removing the former source of artificial warmth and current that helped grow giant fish all through the northern Illinois winters.

The wind picks up

I made a comment that the wind was not as strong as was predicted, which was dumb since the wind really picked up as soon as I made that comment. Keeping the boat positioned so Mike could have a good angle at the shoreline became a little more difficult at that point.

Mike with the best fish of the day

I put another fish or two in the boat including a keeper walleye. But then a short time later, Mike tied into it's grandmother. This was a real good sized walleye. The fish came up and we could clearly see the lure in the fishes mouth. The fish went down again and I heard Mike exclaim, "oh", as if he had lost it. But the line quickly tightened back up letting us know the fish was still there. The fish came back up and Mike asked me to net it since now the lure was in the fishes back. I've only seen that happen one other time where a fish was hooked, threw the lure, and still managed to hook himself - and that was a Catfish. After a picture or two, the walleye was in the live well with the other one.

Channel Catfish

We continued fishing, and once things slowed we doubled back and drifted the same area again. We caught more fish but fishing was a little slower. Mike landed a big Channel Catfish that went back in the water and I had one stretch where I hooked three Smallmouth almost in a row but only put two in the boat. None of the Stripers I caught were worth bragging about, but they were fun nonetheless. I only had one possible musky take a crank bait off the end of my line.

Feathered Fishing Guide

As we made our drift, we came across a couple of diving birds that neither of us had seen before.

A pair of diving birds

They would float in the waves, then disappear under the water.

Diving under the water

The sounds they made as they communicated to each other reminded me of a small puppy playing with his buddies.

About to release a small Striper

Once it was time to go, we headed back in and pulled the boat out, then proceeded to the parking lot to remove the fish from the live well so Mike could take them. As I was trying to get the bigger fish that Mike caught, its gill plate put a pretty good slice in my thumb. Then when I handed the fish to Mike, it got him too. My wife said she would have liked a picture of us standing there sharing the same towel to wipe the blood off. We probably did look kind of funny.

Another fish about to be landed

The Wrong Kind of Record

Heidecke Lake - May 3, 2010

The rain in the distance that never made it

I got to the lake about noon and right away I knew where I'd start my fishing based on the wind direction and speed. Rain was forecast for the afternoon but it set up about 20 miles east and moved away leaving a bright and sunny afternoon.

High Wind or Storms Forecast - Use Extreme Caution

I put the boat in the water, raced to my spot and started fishing. I don't think I was fishing for more than 10 minutes when I felt a hard tap on the end of the line followed by a couple of tugs. Then the water exploded in the distance showing me I had a big Musky on. The fight lasted about five seconds before the fish bit right through the line and was gone with my lure.

A small bird walking the shoreline rocks

The same thing happened several more times throughout the day. I saw a total of four of the Muskies that I hooked so those are the only ones I'm counting as Muskies. One was a monster of a fish, another looked about the size of the one I caught last trip, and the other two were smaller. There were a couple more fish that bit the cranks off the end of the line that might have been Walleye, but I never saw them. My record for landing Muskies at Heidecke was three in one day. I also lost one more that day. If I would have been targeting them, I would have tied on a little Tyger Leader material and probably landed most if not all of them.

Freshwater Drum

As for the fish I did catch, the first was a Drum. It was a plump sixteen inch fish that put up a fight, but later on I caught his mama who put up even more of a fight.

Green Sunfish - Little Fish, Big Appetite

I also caught a Green Sunfish that wasn't much bigger than the lure I was throwing. I'm not sure how he managed to open his mouth that wide, but he did. That would be the most humorous fish of the day.

Smallmouth Bass #1

I put two Smallmouth in the boat. The first was a nice fish and the second was a little smaller. Both were quite acrobatic and jumped a few times before being hoisted aboard. Both were quickly photographed and released.

Smallmouth Bass #2

The geese were very aggressive towards each other today. As I went along the bank, they were chasing each other and fighting over who knows what. Red Winged Blackbirds were already looking for crayfish in the rocks and the gulls were sitting on the railroad cars keeping an eye on everything else that went on.

A small Hybrid Striped Bass

I hooked and lost three or four small Hybrid Stripers or White Bass, and caught one. It's tough to tell them apart when they're small unless you actually get them in the boat. At least these fish didn't take my crank baits with them. So for today I think I set a record for the most fish hooked and not landed during a trip. And for some reason I can't wait to get back out there and try again. The water was still 62 and there was a 20 mph southwest wind that made it easy to drift and cover a lot of water quickly. The air temp reached the upper 70s which made it a very comfortable day to be on the water.

Heidecke Lake - April 20, 2010

Calm Afternoon at Heidecke Lake

I pulled into the parking lot at Heidecke Lake around 3:00 pm for a couple hours of afternoon fishing since it wasn't looking likely I'd have another chance to get out this week. I was surprised to see an almost full parking lot. As far as fishing goes, I wasn't expecting too much since I never do very well at this lake when its sunny. On top of the bright sunshine, there was also very little wind keeping the lake almost like a sheet of glass.

Small Striped Bass

I ran to an area of the shoreline that did not have any other boaters around and began to beat the shore line pretty good. I saw a lot of Freshwater Drum cruising by, and even a few Common Carp getting ready to begin their spawning ritual. It took a while, but I eventually tied into and landed a small Striped Bass

A Real Nice Walleye

A short time later I had another fish on the end of the line. This one was much bigger and put up quite a fight. I had the net within reach and decided to use it once I saw that I had a good sized Walleye clamped onto my crank bait. I scooped him up, took a couple photos, and released him to fight another day.

A little Smallmouth Bass

The next fish took a while to find. I was almost ready to go try another spot when a small Smallmouth Bass tried to make off with my crank bait. After a quick photo, he was back in the water too.

A nice Musky

Shortly after I got to another spot that I wanted to try before I had to head back home, another good fish hit the crank bait. This time I knew I had a good fish on. It fought hard and made a few powerful runs before I got it close enough to see I had a good Musky on. I grabbed the net and quickly realized that the fish wasn't going to fit, and before I knew it, the lure got tangled in the net with the fish thrashing next to it. Luckily I was able to get my hand under the fish before he got away.

Released to fight again another day

After a few quick photos I lowered the Musky back into the water and he took off like a torpedo. I untangled the lure from the net, put everything away, and called it a day. So for not expecting much, it turned out to be a great outing. The water temp was 62 and the air warmed to 65.

Easter Sunday on the Water

Heidecke Lake - Des Plaines River - April 4, 2010

Easter Sunrise at Heidecke Lake

I got to Heidecke Lake just in time to see a wonderful red an purple sunrise. But you know the old saying "red sky in the morning, sailors warning"... that kind of turned out to be true considering before long the wind was blowing past 35 mph out of the south.

The wind is picking up fast

I had a limited amount of time to be on the water before I had to be back in time to get to a family gathering. Fishing was slow and after two hours I hadn't had a bite so I started thinking about heading for the Des Plaines River where it would be easier to deal with the wind. As it was, the wind was pushing me towards the rocks and without a bite to show for it, it wasn't worth the effort to stay out of the rocks so I left for the river.

Early morning swim at Heidecke

As I was packing up, I noticed something bobbing in the waves. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was some type of critter swimming across the lake. It looked like a beaver to me but I never saw the tail so I can't be 100% sure that's what it was. I picked up the camera and took a few photos before I headed into the waves for the boat ramps.

Young Bald Eagle

I made the short drive to the river and with the limited time I had left, I decided I'd try two spots and then head home. I struck out at spot number one, although I hooked and lost a very small White Bass before I got it to the boat.

I left that spot after a few minutes then headed for spot number two. On the way I spotted a young Bald Eagle sitting atop a dead tree in the water.

Channel Catfish

I got to spot number two then proceeded to let the wind carry me along the bank as I threw a couple different crank baits toward the shoreline. About halfway through the drift I caught a nice Channel Catfish. A couple casts later I snagged a big Carp. I brought him to the boat, got him in the net so I could get my lure back, then flipped him out of the net back into the water. As I ended my drift, I hooked and lost a tiny Largemouth Bass.

Pelicans over the Des Plaines River

The day started out in the mid 40s but quickly warmed into the mid 60s. The water at Heidecke was only 52 which was 4 degrees cooler than the previous day. The water in the river was in the 60s. As the day progressed the clouds thickened, and after I got the boat put away and we left for our family gathering, the rain and thunderstorms began. All in all it was a great Easter on and off the water.

Heidecke Lake - August 28, 2009

More photos from today:
http://www.catchphotorelease.com/08282009.htm

Perfect fishing day

I knew fishing would be slow because of the bait fish that are always abundant this time of year, but I decided I'd give the lake a shot anyway. Sure enough, fishing was pretty slow. I caught a few Drum and lost a little Smallmouth that threw the crank bait.

Baitfish on the locator

The highlight of the day was seeing a bird of prey. I'm not sure exactly what species it was ( thanks to Mary Hennen of the Field Museum of Chicago for identifying it as a Peregrine Falcon named Sloopy. She was able to look up numbers on the bands on its legs), but I first spotted it underneath a railroad car. I took several photos as I went past it. I got about 50 yards away from it and it took off and landed about 50 yards in front of me on top of a railroad car. I didn't think much of this until it happened again a couple more times. Could this bird have been following me?

Bird of Prey (Peregrine Falcon) under a Railroad Car

When I got home and looked at the photos on the computer, I noticed bands around birds legs. That had me wondering if the bird had been rehabilitated or domesticated.

On top of a railroad car

Regardless, it was a unique experience to see a bird like that up close, and to have it follow and watch me. Hopefully it wasn't thinking of me as a possible meal. :-)

Bird of Prey posing for the camera

When I was angling the boat to try to get a better photo, I destroyed the prop on the trolling motor. Not only did it shear the pin, but it embedded the parts of the pin into the prop and cracked the inside. It's a good thing those pins are designed to shear before anything else gets damaged. I put the spare prop on but decided to call it a day anyway.

One more picture before it's time to go

Despite not catching many fish, it was a wonderful day to be on the water. There was almost no wind and it stayed cloudy. The air temp was in the mid 70s and the water temp was only 71.

Freshwater Drum

Heidecke Lake - June 15, 2009

Heidecke Lake - June 15, 2009

Today's Photos:

http://www.catchphotorelease.com/06152009.htm

Expect some wind today.

When I got to the lake about 5 minutes past 7:00, Jim was already on the water and waiting for me. We headed out to our first spot as I've done the last few trips and let the wind try to take us along the bank. This saves gas and wear and tear on the trolling motor. Despite the wind wanting to push us into the bank, Jim did a great job controlling the boat and keeping us in the right zone to target the fish. After a while though it seemed we were throwing at the wrong target because fishing was very slow.

Off we go.

The forecast was for light east winds and mostly sunny conditions but we were blessed with a nice blanket of clouds and a little more wind than was predicted. The fish didn't see it that way because they were few and far between. Eventually I hooked up and brought one to the boat.

A small Striper.

A short time later, Jim hooked up and had a real nice Walleye in front of us but if came unhooked and got away. The birds along the shoreline were busy looking for fish and crayfish and every now and then I'd notice a blackbird with a crayfish he'd managed to pull out of the rocks.

Somebody who caught more fish than us.

We brought a few more fish to the boat and every now and then we'd make a second pass on an area where we had caught or hooked something. Each time it seemed like it was for nothing but at least we tried. We switched lures and caught fish on a few different ones but nothing seemed to really get them going today.

Me with another one.

Jim finally hooked another Walleye and was able to put it in the boat.

Jim with a nice Walleye.

A couple more fish and it was time to go.

As we headed in, I threw a cast towards a point and hooked a good fish. It fought hard but when I got it to the boat it was able to shake the lure. The fish was one of the better Walleye I'd seen at the lake and it would have been great to put it in the boat but it didn't happen. We spent another hour hammering that area trying for another one but struck out.

We did manage to find an interesting looking snake resting in some of the rocks along the cove. He had the right idea.

The water temp was as high as 74 in a couple spots and the level was still up from the previous weeks rains. The air temp hit the upper 70s before we left. We put maybe a dozen fish in the boat including Walleye, Stripers, White Bass, Drum, and a Crappie. No monster fish today (except maybe the one I lost on the way in) but it was still a great day on the water.